These big names now feature even bigger quarterly payouts

Many of us worried that 2013 was going to be the beginning of the end; that Congress was going to send income investors to the mat with onerously higher taxes on dividends. But, as it turned out, many were spared, with the 15% level staying for most, and a small increase to 20% for individuals with income levels above $400,000 and families above $450,000.

In addition to that close shave, Wall Street followed up a special-dividend bonanza in last year’s Q4 with a huge spate of blue-chip payout increases for the first quarter of 2013. We’re talking a group of stocks that includes five Dow Jones components, and 14 Dependable Dividend Stocks — companies that have paid out and increased their quarterly checks for a minimum of 25 consecutive years!

Go ahead. Smile a little.

So, if you’re looking for large, more dependable companies that are increasingly using their cash to reward shareholders, this list of 50 blue-chip dividend stocks is a good place to start. Best of all: Several of the stocks listed here have yet to go ex-dividend, giving you time to get in before their first newly fattened payout.

Here’s a look at these 50 companies, including the new payout, the percentage increase, yield based on the end-of-quarter stock price, and payment and record dates:

3M (MMM)

New Payout

% increase

Yield as of 3/29

Payment Date

Record date

$0.635/share

8%

2.39%

March 12

Feb. 15

3M (NYSE:MMM) — the maker of Post-It notes and hundreds of other household products that make our everyday lives just a little more convenient — has been one of the best double-threat Dow components of 2013. It has returned 15% year-to-date to top the S&P 500‘s breakneck run and set new all-time highs around $106 currently … and has continued to ratchet up its quarterly dividend to keep pace with its rocketing shares. As of the end of Q1, MMM was yielding a respectable 2.4%.

Agilent Technologies (A)

New Payout

% Increase

Yield as of 3/29

Payment Date

Record Date

$0.12/share

20%

1.14%

April 25

April 3

Air Products & Chemicals (APD)

New Payout

% Increase

Yield as of 3/29

Payment Date

Record Date

$0.71/share

11%

3.26%

May 13

April 1

Bank of Montreal (BMO)

new payout

% increase

Yield as of 3/29

payment date

record date

$0.74/share

2.7%

4.58%

May 28

May 1

Many of you might not know of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO), even though it does have operations in the U.S.. However, if you’re in the dividend world, you should be well aware of the income-producing power of BMO. The company has been named a Top 25 dividend stock in the Canada Stock Channel ”DividendRank” report after yet again padding its payout this past quarter, offering a juicy 4.6% yield.

BB&T (BBT)

New Payout

% Increase

Yield as of 3/29

Payment Date

Record Date

$0.23/share

15%

2.93%

March 1

Feb. 8

BlackRock (BLK)

New payout

% Increase

Yield as of 3/29

Payment date

Record date

$1.68/share

12%

2.62%

March 25

March 7

Broadcom (BRCM)

New Payout

% Increase

Yield as of 3/29

Payment Date

Record Date

$0.11/share

10%

1.27%

March 4

Feb. 15

Chubb (CB)

New Payout

% Increase

Yield as of 3/29

Payment Date

Record Date

$0.44/share

7.3%

2.01%

April 2

March 15

Coca-Cola (KO)

new payout

% Increase

Yield as of 3/29

Payment Date

Record Date

$0.28/share

10%

2.77%

April 1

March 15

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) is the consummate dividend stock. It has boosted its dividend for half a century, it continues to provide reliable capital gains year after year, it’s a diversified business with operations in most of the world, and it’s a favorite of legendary value investor Warren Buffett. Finding fault with The Coca-Cola Co. is like trying to find fault with Coca-Cola.

Colgate-Palmolive (CL)

New Payout

% Increase

Yield as of 3/29

Payment Date

Record Date

$0.68/share

10%

2.30%

May 15

April 23

Comcast (CMCSA)

new payout

% Increase

Yield as of 3/29

Payment Date

Record Date

$0.78/share

20%

1.86%

April 24

April 3

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) — cable operator and parent of NBCUniversal — and the rest of the media sector has been awfully kind to investors as of late. Comcast itself has improved a clean 40% over the past 52 weeks, and will enter Q2 with a slightly sweetened dividend.

Deere (DE)

New Payout

% Increase

Yield as of 3/29

Payment Date

Record Date

$0.51/share

11%

2.37%

May 1

March 28

Devon Energy (DVN)

New Payout

% Increase

Yield as of 3/29

Payment Date

Record Date

$0.22/share

10%

1.56%

June 28

June 14

Dr Pepper Snapple (DPS)

New Payout

% Increase

Yield as of 3/29

Payment Date

Record Date

$0.38/share

12%

3.24%

April 5

March 15

Family Dollar (FDO)

New Payout

% Increase

Yield as of 3/29

Payment Date

Record Date

$0.26/share

24%

1.76%

April 15

March 15

Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB)

New Payout

% Increase

Yield as of 3/29

Payment Date

Record Date

$0.11/share

10%

2.70%

April 18

March 29

Ford (F)

New Payout

% Increase

Yield as of 3/29

Payment Date

Record Date

$0.10/share

100%

3.04%

March 1

Jan. 30

That beeping sound is the dump trucks full of money backing into Ford (NYSE:F) shareholder driveways across the U.S. The automaker’s continued resurgence since summer of 2012 — that has included a 45% run-up in shares — led to a doubling of the company’s dividend in January, paid out for the first time at the beginning of this month.

Franklin Resources (BEN)

New Payout

% Increase

Yield as of 3/29

Payment Date

Record Date

$0.29/share

7%

0.77%

April 12

March 28

General Dynamics (GD)

New Payout

% Increase

Yield as of 3/29

Payment Date

Record Date

$0.56/share

10%

3.18%

May 10

April 12

General Mills (GIS)

New Payout

% Increase

Yield as of 3/29

Payment Date

Record Date

$0.33/share

15%

2.68%

May 1

April 10

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) is one of the shining examples of how good times have been for consumer staples. The Minnesota-based maker of Cheerios — not to mention top name brands like Green Giant, Betty Crocker, Yoplait and Pillsbury — has cruised to all-time highs this year thanks to a 22% run. Now, shareholders will get a big boost in the quarterly payout come May.

Genuine Parts (GPC)

New Payout

% Increase

Yield as of 3/29

Payment Date

Record Date

$0.5375/share

8.6%

2.76%

April 1

March 8

Goldcorp (GG)

New Payout

% Increase

Yield as of 3/29

Payment Date

Record Date

$0.05/share

11%

1.78%

Jan. 25

Jan. 17

Halliburton (HAL)

New Payout

% Increase

Yield as of 3/29

Payment Date

Record Date

$0.125/share

39%

1.24%

March 27

March 6

Hewlett-Packard (HPQ)

New Payout

% Increase

Yield as of 3/29

Payment Date

Record Date

$0.1452/share

10%

2.21%

TBA

TBA

You can’t really be too positive about Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ). After all, the comp …

… oh wait. It’s 2013, not 2012. And — at least for now — it’s a whole new ballgame for the previously struggling tech giant. HPQ has rebounded from years of losses, including a 45% haircut in 2012, with a 67% run in Q1 2013 that has put it among the 10 best S&P 500 stocks for the quarter. Now, shareholders will have some extra income to go along with those big capital returns.

HollyFrontier (HFC)

New Payout

% Increase

Yield as of 3/29

Payment Date

Record Date

$0.30/share

50%

2.33%

April 2

March 15

Hormel (HRL)

New Payout

% Increase

Yield as of 3/29

Payment Date

Record Date

$0.17/share

13%

1.65%

Feb. 15

Jan. 22

Kansas City Southern (KSU)

New Payout

% Increase

Yield as of 3/29

Payment Date

Record Date

$0.215/share

10%

0.78%

April 3

March 11

Kinder Morgan (KMI)

New Payout

% Increase

Yield as of 3/29

Payment Date

Record Date

$0.37/share

19%

3.83%

Feb. 15

Jan. 31

Kimberly-Clark (KMB)

New Payout

% Increase

Yield as of 3/29

Payment Date

Record Date

$0.81/share

9.5%

3.31%

April 2

March 8

KKR (KKR)

New Payout

% Increase

Yield as of 3/29

Payment date

Record date

$0.70/share

191.67%

6.31%

March 7

Feb. 14

Take a bow, KKR (NYSE:KKR) — you made what easily was one of the biggest dividend splashes of Q1. The global investment firm puffed its chest after improving earnings from $1.92 million in 2011 to $560 million in 2012, opting to nearly triple its dividend this past quarter. KKR now yields a mouth-watering 6%-plus.

Limited Brands (LTD)

New Payout

% Increase

Yield as of 3/29

Payment date

Record date

$0.30/share

20%

2.69%

March 8

Feb. 22

Lorillard (LO)

New Payout

% Increase

Yield as of 3/29

Payment date

Record date

$0.55/share

6.5%

5.45%

March 11

March 1

MasterCard (MA)

New Payout

% Increase

Yield as of 3/29

Payment date

Record date

$0.60/share

100%

0.44%

May 9

April 9

Another big dividend splash came from the payment processor front, with credit card giant MasterCard (NYSE:MA) doubling its dividend to 60 cents quarterly. MasterCard, Visa (NYSE:V) and the rest of the industry’s big names have surged out of the Great Recession amid an explosion in global credit transactions, with MA itself posting an average of 40% gains annually in the past three years.

Mattel (MAT)

New Payout

% Increase

Yield as of 3/29

Payment date

Record date

$0.36/share

16.1%

3.29%

March 8

Feb. 22

McGraw-Hill (MHP)

New Payout

% Increase

Yield as of 3/29

Payment date

Record date

$0.28/share

9.8%

2.15%

March 12

Feb. 26

Nordstrom (JWN)

New Payout

% Increase

Yield as of 3/29

Payment date

Record date

$0.30/share

11%

2.17%

March 22

March 11

Occidental Petroleum (OXY)

New Payout

% Increase

Yield as of 3/29

Payment date

Record date

$0.64/share

18.5%

3.27%

April 15

March 8

PepsiCo (PEP)

New Payout

% Increase

Yield as of 3/29

Payment date

Record date

$0.5375/share

5.56%

2.72%

March 29

March 1

Just like its rival Coca-Cola, PepsiCo (NYSE:PEP) is an all-around threat of solid dividend income, capital gains and a business you can believe in for more of the same. The company has improved a market-beating 15% year-to-date, and the diversified maker of beverages and snacks is attacking on a number of fronts, including updates and ad pushes to its classic Pepsi soft drink line.

Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (POT)

New Payout

% Increase

Yield as of 3/29

Payment date

Record date

$0.28/share

33%

2.85%

May 2

April 11

Qualcomm (QCOM)

New Payout

% Increase

Yield as of 3/29

Payment date

Record date

$0.35/share

40%

1.49%

TBA

TBA

Qualcomm‘s (NASDAQ:QCOM) yield has never been much to crow about, but the company’s dividend has come a long way since its initial 2.5-cent payout in 2003. The most recent increase is one of its biggest in years, and comes as the company’s stock once again tries to attack all-time highs set in spring 2012.

Raytheon (RTN)

New Payout

% Increase

Yield as of 3/29

Payment date

Record date

$0.55/share

18%

3.74%

May 2

April 3

Sherwin-Williams (SHW)

New Payout

% Increase

Yield as of 3/29

Payment date

Record date

$0.50/share

28%

1.18%

March 8

Feb. 25

SunTrust (STI)

New Payout

% Increase

Yield as of 3/29

Payment date

Record date

$0.10/share

100%

1.38%

TBA

TBA

The fed’s most recent stress-test results looked favorably upon a number of banks that subsequently jacked up their payouts, and large regional SunTrust (NYSE:STI) is among those ranks. STI announced a 50% improvement to its dividend to 10 cents — its second increase since its payout declined from a high of 77 cents quarterly to 1 cent during the financial crisis.

Texas Instruments (TXN)

New Payout

% Increase

Yield as of 3/29

Payment date

Record date

$0.28/share

33%

3.16%

May 20

April 30

UPS (UPS)

New Payout

% Increase

Yield as of 3/29

Payment date

Record date

$0.62/share

8.8%

2.89%

March 12

Feb. 25

Walmart (WMT)

New Payout

% Increase

Yield as of 3/29

Payment date

Record date

$0.47/share

18%

2.51%

April 1

March 12

For all the concerns of the effect of the payroll tax holiday expiration, higher gas prices and other economic worries, Walmart (NYSE:WMT) has done all right for itself, gaining 10% year-to-date and 23% in the past year. The company recently announced better-than-expected earnings and provided a substantial kick to the dividend.

Waste Management (WM)

New Payout

% Increase

Yield as of 3/29

Payment date

Record date

$0.365/share

18%

3.72%

March 22

March 11

WellPoint (WLP)

New Payout

% Increase

Yield as of 3/29

Payment date

Record date

$0.375/share

30%

2.26%

March 25

March 8

Wells Fargo (WFC)*

New Payout

% Increase

Yield as of 3/29

Payment date

Record date

$0.30/share

20%

2.70%

TBA

TBA

$0.25/share

14%

–

March 1

Feb. 1

*Wells Fargo increased its dividend twice during the period

The bank’s so nice, it rewarded shareholders twice! That’s right, Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) — which has solidified its books since the financial crisis and been aided by an improving housing market — announced two payout increases during the past three months, stretching its payout from an original 22 cents last year to 30 cents in the upcoming quarter — good for a combined 36% improvement!